They must trust you and believe that you care in order for them to reach their full potential.
Rapport is very important, but the instructor needs to be careful not to send the wrong signals to students. There must be mutual respect,trust,and fairness toward all students. These are all part of being a professional. There must also be the perception of "equality" in the application of college policies which pertains to the supporting environment in the relationships between facilitator and students. What do you think?
Students feel uncertain about being back in school and are struggling with new content. As an instructor, if you attempt to place yourself into the students shoes, we begin to realize that we were also students once.. IF you can verbalize that to the students, they begin to relax and see that they can also be successful. If they have a positive relationship with the instructor and trust them, this will create rapport.
I have found that using the first class to go over requirements etc. then getting to know each other allows me to become at ease with the students as well as for them to get to know me. When I am at ease with them, they are more receptive to the information. A student is very quick to pick up on an instructor not at ease with the material being presented or students he is presenting it to.
Building rapport is the step of "opening the gate" to learning. It allows the course information to sink in. Without that relationship or "opening", the student will not let the course content in.
Developing reapport with students helps keeps students focus and can help bring students back when they are led astray. You need to know where students have been, where they are going, to see how you will address them in certain situations. Sometimes you need to catch things before they get out of hand or watch how they are approached towards certain students.
When you have a rapport with student, then you have student who want to do the best for you. This includes thier work. They will want to take thier classes with you, come to class on time, and do thier best in general.
Rapport is defined as a emotional bond or friendly relationship between people based on mutual liking, trust, and a sense that they understand and share each others concerns. Basically it is about having and developing trust and understanding of each student. The students that come into our classrooms all come from different background, having different living situation, and different personality. Therefore, it is most importance that we as facilitators build up trust and respect for each individual student. These students look to us as a stepping stone into there career choice.
When having a good rapport with students, the student want to work for you, want to take your classes, look forward to seeing you, and could also will also get other student to work with you.
Danny,
Yes, it is. Rapport and respect are two critical components related to student retention. We need to earn their respect while showing them respect and then develop rapport as the course progresses.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Rapport is one way of bonding with students and also a great way of gaining their trust. When you as an instructor have that trust from the students, is is easier to get through to them and the learning process becomes smooth
Vicki,
I wish you success with this group of students when you have them again. Something happen to build that wall and hopefully with the new course you can break through the wall and earn their respect and trust.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I feel that for effective communication there must be good rapport between the instructor and the students. I recently taught a class where the students refused to communicate with me. They continually went to other instructors and to the director of education with concerns they had for the classroom. Had they come to me and given me a chance to communicate with them, we could have had a good learning experience. I tried to communicate with them after I learned of what had been happening, but they still did not trust me enough to come to me directly with their concerns.
This did not end up to be a good learning experience, for the students or myself. It is extremely upsetting to me that this was the end result. Rapport and communication goes two ways. I will have this same group of students again and am hoping that I can turn them around, that they will give me the chance to do so.
It is first step in gianing the trust and repect of the student. this in turns allows them selves to open up to the facilitator and the content of the course. It also allows for the the facilitator to gain insight in the student learner and how thier experiences shape their learning and retention.
I try to make my students feel like adults when I am in the class and also try to bring my teaching techniques so the students can understand what is being taught.
The development of rapport with students is important because it opens up the path to trust and respect. When students know that an instructor cares about them more than just as a learner, it humanizes the instructor. Rapport an instructor has with students is not only valuable to the student, but to the instructor as well. Relationships on a trust and respect level, not too personal, bond the student and instructor. Once this level has been reached, the student has more motivation to learn and the instructor has a greater motivation to progress. The positive rapport I have with my students is what keeps me 'alive' as an instructor.
Craig,
This is a good point for instructors of general or foundational courses to remember. The students need to have a connection with the instructor and the content if they are going to invest the effort needed for success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
As an English instructor I find that once I establish rapport, my students will write at a more personal level. This in turn enhances both the quality of their work and their desire to succeed.
Don,
One of the rewards of being an instructor is the relationship with students. Once you have developed rapport with them you can build on the connection as they progress through their career preparation. At the end you know you had an impact on their lives and their careers.
Gary
Rapport is what I identify as my biggest strength.
I include lots of anecdotes and funny stories to help engage the students.
